This image demonstrates results of the study of micro-structure formation in polymers that self-assemble into different shapes ranging from grains to lines interconnected into complex patterns and meshes. It shows the microstructure of a 2-millimeter-long fragment of self-assembled polymers, which University of South Florida materials scientist Anna Pyayt is using to build miniature "lab-on-a-chip" devices for biomedical diagnostic applications.

This image was choose as one of the winners of the 2013 NSF & Science Journal Visualization Challenge.
Publised in: Science, February 7, 2014: Vol. 343 no. 6171 pp. 600-610